A Day in the Life

Okay, so I just got back from Staples. I put my novel Kirana on a CD, had them print the whole dang thing out – 312 pages. That cost me $24, plus another $10 for a binder. Receipts saved for tax time. I now have an official hard copy of my first novel, my first attempt To See If I Could Do It, and now C is going to read it. She read the first draft … back in the summer of 1999. So, yeah, there’s a tortoise-like dimension to my writing. But in between that first draft and this hard copy (which is actually the third draft) I did do a second novel, 16 short stories, and two years worth of daily blogging.

What’s next? Well, as you can see to the left, I’m re-reading my novel The Whale of Cortary. Haven’t read it since I finished it partially-satisfied in November of 2007. This, too, will be the third draft, and the last draft. I’m expecting to complete it in a week or two, since the lengthy last chapter needs major reconstructive surgery, and get a hard-copy of that to keep on hand.

I have a list of 106 literary agents to go through; not all accept science fiction. After that, a Google Quest on “writing submissions” or “querying literary agents” or something to find out the proper way to contact one of these fellows. Sure, there are instructions on the agents’ various pages, but it never hurts to be thorough. Then I type up an email (or a letter) and hit the SEND button (or drop it in that big blue box at the corner of my street). And wait and see what happens.

I have three novel ideas, each in varying stages of enfleshment (ewww), that I’m pondering. Which to begin? Since both my novels are on the longish side (117,000 and 121,000 words) I’m also wondering whether it might make more economical sense (to a publisher) if I just expand one of my short stories (most, too, on the long side for a short story, usually around 10,000 to 15,000 words) into a short novel (75,000 words). (Lots of parenthetical information in that last sentence.) Economics is a huge factor. Imagine looking at the science fiction paperback shelves at B&N. The thicker your novel is, the more space it takes up, so publishers and retailers do take a novel’s size into consideration, especially a rookie novelist. So, I got some stuff to think over.

Currently, when I work at night I do about an hour on the website and an hour with my written original work. A lot of times I’ll do some work around lunch time if the wife is out on the road and the toddler’s napping. But I’m not consistent, for a variety of reasons, some of which are my fault, some not. Ideally, if I could free myself up and discipline myself to do this five nights a week, that’s a full 40-hour workweek a month devoted to making a living at this.

Tough, but doable.

Keep ya posted …